China Sets Stage for Xi Jinping to Rule Beyond 2023

‘MAO OF THE 21st CENTURY’

Updated Feb. 27, 2018 12:48AM ET / Published Feb. 25, 2018 8:52AM ET

Damir Sagolj/Reuters

China’s Communist Party on Sunday proposed ending term limits for the country’s president, paving the way for party leader Xi Jinping to remain in power beyond 2023. The proposal, which would involve removing a clause setting out term limits from the constitution, is expected to be approved at an annual meeting on March 5. The move comes amid concerns the Chinese leader is seeking to centralize power for a long-term reign that could make him the “Mao Zedong of the 21st century,” political analyst Willy Lam told the Associated Press. Fears of Xi achieving lifetime power arose after last year’s Communist Party congress, when Xi’s name was added to the party constitution as he declared a “new era” under his guidance. Party officials began planning for his second-year term at that time but made no mention of any potential successors to take over after 2023.